The 17 Days You Were Gone
by CreativePanda22
Summary: When Bogo puts Judy and Nick on a top-secret case, it is up to them to find Jacob Stienz, Zootopia's biggest drug lord. The duo must work harder and closer than they ever have before, making every move as meticulous as the last, or else they could die. When a shoot out turns deadly, will their friendship be enough to pull them through? Or will 17 days break them? (Updates weekly)


The sun melted over the horizon, shedding light into all corners of the grand city of Zootopia. Shining in on every window, covered or not, and seeping in to wake it's residents. The clouds were almost non existent and if you blinked you would have missed the sunrise as the blue sky came as quick as it had disappeared the night before.

Some people loved the daytime, the happiness that it brought with it's warmth and comfort. The fact that it was a new day excited a grey bunny as she bounced out of bed in hopes to catch a glimpse of the sunrise, just as she did everyday.

And everyday she saw the same thing. Buildings upon buildings blocking the beautiful work of nature that she enjoyed watching growing up on the farm. However, this did not lower her longing to start the day as she gazed down at the many mammals already hustling quickly down the dimly lit streets. She woke up everyday with the same motto. _Let's make the world a better place today._

Not every mammal in Zootopia was as quite a morning person as the small, enthusiastic bunny. As the alarm clock sounded for the seventh time that morning, a red paw finally turned it off rather than hit the snooze once more. Groaning, the fox stretched and practically had to throw himself out of bed to make his morning coffee.

His ancestors being nocturnal, he was never a morning person, even after a year of work at the ZPD. Every morning was just as grueling. Luckily, there was always a certain bunny that would make him smile with her morning phone call. She swore that it was just a friendly thing to do, but he knew it was because she wanted to make sure that he was awake, and not sleeping in. He was her partner anyway, she couldn't do it without him.

*buzz* *buzz*

The phone on the counter started to rattle around, conveying the message that a phone call was coming in to the tall, sleepy fox.

"Morning, Carrots," he said groggily into the phone, reaching to grab his finished coffee and pour it into his favorite black coffee mug, the steam rising up to meet his face.

"Good morning Nick," Judy replied, using triple the amount of energy in the work 'good' than Nick had in his whole body at the moment. "Sleep well?"

He let an unintentional sigh escape his lips before responding. "It would be better if we didn't have to wake up at 5:30 every day."

Taking a sip of his coffee, he headed over to his closet, plucking his uniform from the array of clothing hung up and laying it out on his bed.

Nick's apartment was nothing glamorous. It had two rooms. A bathroom, and an everything else room. The carpet laid out on the floor was thin and stained in multiple spots. It wasn't all Nick's doing of course, although he was to blame for a few. The place wasn't in the best condition when he bought it. The old-fashioned wall paper had begun to rip at the seams and a leak from an upstairs bathroom a year ago had cause the wall paper in the corner above his rickety bed to curl, revealing the ugly pink paint behind it.

His mini kitchen, if you could call it one, consisted of an old refrigerator, a microwave and a stovetop. It was located in the corner of the room next to his bed. Fortunately, being handy with tools, he had been able to fix a few broken parts of the appliances a few times but he really needed an upgrade.

"Come on Nick, we have been doing this together for a year now. You would think that you would be used to it now."

Half dressed, Nick replied to the phone lying on his bed. "Listen, it's not like you got used to this waking up early thing in a year. You have been doing it since you were in the womb for heavens sakes Judy. I have not. In fact, I lived at night most of the time when I was a hustler. Cut me some slack why don't Ya."

For how old and gross his apartment looked, Nick wasn't one to have a messy house. Some didn't believe him when he told them but he had always been very tidy about his home, placing everything back in it's spot before heading to bed every night. It had become a sort of strange habit but after he had met Judy, he promised himself that he would turn everything around when he returned from the Academy, and he did. He owed that bunny his life.

"Fine. I'll be at your apartment in five. See ya."

With that, the call ended, allowing Nick's apartment to return to its solitary silence.

After clipping his badge to his uniform, he couldn't help but smile at the fox in the mirror. Every time that he put on his badge, he remembered his mother's face when he showed up on her doorstep in uniform. The hot tears that splashed on his shoulder as they embraced for the first time in years. He couldn't help but feel proud of how far he had come.

 _Who would have thought that a fox like me would become an officer at the ZPD?_ He thought to himself.

The black and white vehicle lined with the words Zootopia Police Department, slowed to a halt in front of the dull apartment building. Many of the windows were covered by tattered old blinds, some even cracked. It was not a building to gawk at, but that was common in Zootopia.

The tranquil air was suddenly tarnished as the door to the apartment building flew open, a certain fox running out, coffee in hand. As he approached the car, it unlocked with a click, allowing him to open the door and hop in.

"Ready?"

Nick glanced over at Judy with a smile, flicking his sunglasses down over his eyes. "Always." Grinning, Judy switched her view back to the road as she pulled out of the parking lot.

When driving down the streets of Zootopia, one had to be very skilled. In order to get anywhere on time, you had to know exactly where you were and all of the shortcuts to get to your destination. Sometimes, Nick would stare out the window in wonder as he watched the mammals scurry down the streets. They were all going somewhere.

Building by building, the inched closer to President One, weaving around the many tired and impatient citizens.

"What's on your mind, Nick?"

Nick shook his glance from the side window and turned to look at her with a questioning face.

"Whatever do you mean, Carrots?"

Rolling her eyes at his tone, she continued. "You usually aren't this quiet, that's all."

Judy was a by the law cop. She took her job as seriously as Bogo some of the time. This reflected on her driving. She rarely took her eyes off of the road to look at Nick, especially not her phone. This time was no different. She spoke into the glass in front of her, not taking her eyes off of the black pavement.

Nick laughed. "I would have thought that you would enjoy some peace and quiet for once."

"I never said I didn't mind, it's just usually not normal for you to be quiet, that's all." She spoke in a flustered tone, slightly embarrassed that she even asked in the first place since nothing was wrong.

"You bunnies, so emotional."

"Har, har. But, in all seriousness, you good?" This time, to Nick's surprise, she turned her head to glance at him before turning her eyes back forward.

Nick reached over and put a paw on Judy's shoulder. "I'm fine, Judy. You know, you don't have to worry about me so much."

Nick's hand squeezed her shoulder a little, earning a laugh from the bunny.

"What's so funny?" he inquired, removing his paw from her shoulder and placing it back in his lap, wrapping it around his coffee.

"Nothing, just… you do realize that all I do is worry about you? You're my partner, that's my job."

The car jolted, as the car drove over the bump which separated the Zootopian street and the ZPD parking lot. Unfortunately for Nick, he had chosen the wrong time to sip his coffee as the bump jolted it up in his face and dripping some on the right side of his uniform.

"AGH! HOT!" he all but screamed, causing Judy do jump in her seat.

Pulling into their designated spot, Judy pulled the keys out of the ignition before opening her door to get out.

"Come on slick. You should probably go get cleaned up before roll call." The smug look she wore on her face was undoubtedly something that she had picked up from Nick in the last year and he couldn't help but inwardly laugh.

With that, she slammed the door closed and headed towards the building, leaving the shocked and coffee covered fox frozen in place.

From the outside of the bathroom door labeled "Men," Judy could hear her partners sighing as he vigorously tried to get the coffee out of his fur and uniform. Looking down at her phone, she read the timestamp. 6:54.

"Nick, if we are late and we get stuck with parking duty, so help me!" she yelled to him through the oak wood door.

No response came, only the swinging of the door, revealing the, now clean, fox. There was a grin on his lips, the same one that always infuriated Judy as he spoke.

"Oh come on fluff. You act like this wasn't your fault."

Rolling her eyes, she mumbled something under her breath as she shuffled her feet along the tiled floor to roll call. Following behind her, the two made their way, finding themselves in their shared seat at 6:58.

"Look Carrots, two minutes to spare. I didn't make us late."

A huff came from the bunny's lips as she parted them to make a response. However, her mouth was snapped closed again when the chief entered the room.

Their chair and table bouncing from the shouting and pounding, Judy and Nick held on their best, trying not to topple over in front of their many co-workers.

Gazing upon the board that was in front of them, Judy saw a map of Zootopia. All of the districts were colored a different color and every landmark was marked with care on the big map. Now, this was nothing different from what was always on the board except this time, it was clean. No strings, not pictures… nothing.

As the chief entered the room, his hooves were usually piled with manilla case files, yet today they were empty. Judy's suspicious continued to grow, but she figured that it was best to keep quiet and wait for the chief to give his orders. Glancing over at her partner, she looked at him to see if he shared the same curiosity as herself, only to find that he was whispering to an officer behind them.

"Shut up!"

Bogo's loud booming voice filled the room, leaving as quickly as it came. It seemed to echo in the room, lingering long enough to ensure the silence of the officers. Clearing his voice, he straightened his posture.

"Let's begin. Today every officer will be on patrol unless I call your name. You all have your locations."

The room suddenly fell restless as officers big and small alike turned to look at their partner with the same look. _No assignments?_ Judy wondered how this was even possible when living in a city such as Zootopia.

The room was silent for a moment before Bogo spoke again. "I would like the following officers to remain here. Officers Delgato and Fangmeyer and Officers Wilde and Hopps. Dismissed."

Time froze for a moment before the squeaking and screaming of chairs filled the air, echoing off of the walls and the floor. The door in the back of the room opened, swinging back and forth as officers flooded out. Judy watched them, giving a quick gaze at Officer Delgato to see the same face she was wearing plastered on his face. The door closed with a slam as Judy turned her head back to the front of the room to Chief Bogo.

"You may be wondering why I gave no assignments. Truth is, there is an assignment, and I wanted my best officers on the job." He paused, reaching his hoof to grab the corner of the map that Judy had been staring at. With a flick of his wrist, the false map on top was ripped from the board, revealing an identical. However, this one was labeled with a picture and marked with circles.

Nick stared at the photo that was located in the top right hand corner of the map. It was a photo of a bunny. His form looked like Judy's but his face was… menacing. His face was broad and his right ear was cut short, the end of it jagged. His snout had a scar that streaked across her right cheek. There was one thing that was similar to Judy, well other than species. His wide, lavender eyes reminded so much of his partners it gave him the chills.

"This man, Jacob Stienz, is a big-time drug dealer. He has been in business for years, however every time we make an attempt to make a move on him, he finds a way around it. This has lead us to believe that there is a leak in our system. As much as I hate to say it, someone on our force is tipping this guy off. Officers Fangmeyer and Delgato, you have been some of the best officers on the force and I have full trust that it is not you. Officers Wilde and Hopps, neither of you have been on the force long enough to be the leak. That is why I picked you four."

Judy and Nick looked at each other. Neither of them was saying something through their gaze, it was a way of taking in the situation in a way.

"Now, Stienz's last known sighting was at the abandoned chocolate factory on Broad St. Officers Delgato and Fangmeyer, that is your post. You must go there and see what you can dig up. If nothing turns up, I would like you to stake out the buildin out for 24 hours before reporting back to me. This is an undercover operation so be as covert as possible. Do you understand your orders?"

The question was practically rhetorical as there really was no other answer than yes, which the two displayed by nodding their head before exiting the room. That left Bogo, Judy, and Nick alone in the room. Silence fell upon them like a thin fog before it was shattered by Bogo's booming voice.

"As for you two. Fellow drug dealers have tipped us off on some information on Stienz, telling us that his operation is currently being held in the basement of a church in Tundra Town. They say that he has been selling a new kind of drug to teens who will pay loads for it. It is supposed to get you high, but with even a little too much, you could die. Last month, there was a death of a young teenage girl by a new drug. We think that there is a link. This would mean that he would be in for possession of illegal substance and murder. I would like the two of you to enter the premises and dig up as much as you can without getting yourselves killed. Do not wear your uniforms as this is undercover until absolutely necessary. If you are seen by anyone, your cover is that you are trying to find this new kind of drug and that you are willing to pay a lot for it. The rest of the information is located in your case file under the keyboard in Hopp's cubicle. Any questions?"

A bulge could be seen in Nick's throat as he gulped at the sudden flood of intell. He nodded in agreement whilst taking everything in, his brain starting to move, the information moving through the gears of his mind.

Judy however, wore a confused look on her face before she spoke. "Why not tell Officer Fangmeyer and Delgato where we were going and the intel on the girl?" Nick turned to stare at Judy. He hadn't thought of that.

Bogo let out a loud and remorseful sigh. "I trust those officers as much as I trust the two of you, but the fact is, is that every police officer that was here as of a year and a half ago is a suspect, including them." He paused for a second, looking down at his feet. "This leak has to be found soon and I hate to say it but not every cop is pure as I know you are, Hopps. It will be up to me to figure it out. You have your assignment. Dismissed."

With that, Bogo plopped his hands at his side. Taking a deep breath, he excused himself from the room, leaving Judy and Nick alone in a room filled with chairs twice their size, to ponder and cope with the information thrown upon them.

(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed chapter one. I am so excited about this story as I hope you are. I am planning to update every week, the beginning of the week (Sunday to Tuesday). Don't forget to leave a review as the story progresses telling me what you think. Until next week, CreativePanda22.)


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